San Marcos

On Saturday the 16^th we had class in San Marcos. According to the guide books, it’s a town of about 19,000 people and is thought to be the oldest human settlement in Nicaragua. To get there we took the bus that we had practiced taking two days before. This time, however, it was rush hour. The buses here are old yellow school buses that are completely decked out with stickers, plastic streamers, lights, and music. We got on the bus and there were about 120 people on the bus. About another 30 people got on during our trip. It is honestly impressive how many people they can fit on the bus. They have a helper that calls out the stops, collects the money and tells people to move toward the back of the bus. It was quite an experience to be that close together to so many people. We ended up three across in the aisle. At one point I couldn’t get both feet completely on the ground.

We had classes on Survey Design and Community Banks. Both were pretty interesting. PC has done a great job of using current volunteers to give many of the sessions. It is great for us because they tell us about their actual successes and failures. It’s also great to hear about the different things volunteers have done and some of the obstacles they have faced. We started a community bank within the small business volunteers. We have to each put in 30 cordobas a week, which is about $1.20. The maximum loan allowed is $15, which is more than we make per week here as trainees.

After the lessons, we went out for lunch in San Marcos. We broke up into two groups. I went to a biker bar/restaurant, which just seemed like southern bar with a nice inner patio. It was the most expensive menu I have seen here. A deluxe hamburger cost about 150 cordobas, or $6.  I had Tacos Nicas, which were fried meat filled tacos topped with cabbage for 56 cordobas. It was fun to eat out with everyone and enjoy a meal I haven’t had here yet. I asked my family later why the restaurant was so expensive and it’s because the Ave Maria College is there, which is a private bilingual school.